VOL 27 ISSUE 40, October 12, 2026
The culinary creativity from Delaware North Sportservice is earning national attention as the 2026-27 NHL season is now underway.
At the center of the buzz is perhaps one of the most unexpected menu items Sportservice has ever created: the Nerds Gummy Cluster Brie Grilled Cheese at UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders.
The sweet-and-savory creation from Executive Chef Ted Donnelly and his team combines creamy brie and Nerds Gummy Clusters on toasted sourdough. It has helped generate significant attention for UBS Arena’s new menu, which received more than 65 media placements and 26.8 million impressions immediately following its unveiling.
Now, the sandwich and the creativity behind it are getting an even bigger national spotlight, with recent features from Sports Illustrated and The Athletic/New York Times.
Sports Illustrated: The man behind the grilled cheese
Sports Illustrated recently profiled Donnelly and the story behind the viral creation, which started when he spotted an unusual pairing of brie and Nerds Gummy Clusters on social media.
“I just thought to myself, we can make a grilled cheese out of that,” Donnelly told Sports Illustrated.
The story takes readers inside Donnelly’s creative process and highlights how his team is using unexpected food combinations to add another element of excitement to the game-day experience.
Read the Sports Illustrated story.
The Athletic: Creativity across the NHL
The Athletic/New York Times went even broader, taking readers inside the development of viral and unexpected food offerings at NHL arenas across the country. The story featured Donnelly along with Sportservice chefs at Nationwide Arena, TD Garden and Climate Pledge Arena, providing a national showcase for the culinary talent and creativity across the company’s NHL portfolio.
For Donnelly, developing that next big idea can begin with something as simple as scrolling through social media.
“They’re coming for the hockey, but any way we can get people excited about coming in, and coming in early, with the amazing things that we do is always better.”
At Nationwide Arena, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Executive Chef Sean Barger described a similar spirit of experimentation. Among this season’s creations is a root beer float poutine featuring funnel cake-style fries, funnel cake-battered cheese curds, root beer syrup, whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
“Anything we do, we try to do over the top,” Barger told The Athletic. “We allow our chefs to flex their culinary muscles and have fun with this stuff.”
Mary Towers, an executive sous chef at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins, told The Athletic that presentation has taken on even greater importance as fans share their game-day experiences through social media.
“They’re taking pictures of everything and posting it everywhere. So, our job is to make sure that it’s pristine.”
And the ultimate test? The Athletic reporter tried Donnelly’s creations herself, concluding that despite their unconventional combinations, “the combinations worked.”